Sunday, August 11, 2013

Here is another of the ten custom dollhouses featured in the Designer Dollhouse Showcase at the Kaleidocsope Ball that helped to raise almost $1.8 million for UCLA Mattel Children's Discovery and Innovation Institute. Here are more photos from Lonni Paul and Adam Hunter's Italianate House 1. Click on the images to enlarge.

Lonni Paul designed the entry, dining room, and great room. While living in Italy, she was drawn to the more modern interiors of centuries old homes and designed the house with a mix of timeless elegance and a modern Italian sensibility. The color scheme includes blues and silvers in the great room and an all red palette in the dining room. Adding to the elegance of the design, the great room includes wall coverings from Trove and David Sutherland, Rubelli fabric for windows and Donghia for the sofas and ottoman. The rooms’ furnishings consist of custom designed pieces including a Ralph Lauren for the bench fabric and Swarovski crystals on miniature lighting fixtures, illuminated by LEDs. The dining room showcases Sahco curtains and wall coverings from Innovations for the ceiling and Maya Romanoff for the remainder of the room. Credits go to California Acrylic Design, Holly Hunt, and GGNStudio for their contributions to the design.

Adam Hunter designed the second floor to include a master bedroom with master sitting room and a child's bedroom. Hunter uses lush fabric and rich textures to create bedrooms with an old European feel but with a modern influence. The master bedroom has a color palette of silver, grey, crème, and pale lavender, while the child's room is a combination of mint pistachio and hints of soft pink. Credits go to Gigin Studio, A Life in Miniature, Mod Pod Miniatures, Cufflinks Cowboy Boots for their contributions to the design.

Saturday, August 10, 2013

This is one of the custom dollhouses featured in the Designer Dollhouse Showcase at the Kaleidocsope Ball that helped to raise almost $1.8 million for UCLA Mattel Children's Discovery and Innovation Institute. Here are more photos from Mark Cutler and Cari Berg's Italianate House 2. You can also read my feature on Mark Cutler here with behind the scenes photos of his work. Click on the images to enlarge.

Mark Cutler designed the first floor as the ultimate girl’s dream house. Inspired by the great fantasy houses in Palm Beach and the iconic Beverly Hills Hotel, Cutler design features a sophisticated neutral color palette for the two story entry that showcases a custom miniature “Ramona” chandelier by Fuse Lighting, and the striking “Martinique” banana leaf wallpaper before transitioning into the glamorous living room and library. Both spaces are brightened with vivid pops of pinks, reds, purples, and feature handmade Japanese wallpaper, custom made upholstery, and a creative blend of classic and contemporary dollhouse pieces and repurposed items that make for a luxurious fantasyland any girl would love.

Cari Berg designed the second floor landing, bedroom and studio for the fashionable girl. The landing is anchored by the classic Martinique patterned wallpaper and the runners, custom made by Merida, the upholstered borne settee and the drapery help layer the space and add to the cosmopolitan mix of materials. The abstract original artwork from artist, Loryn Kolbrenner, adds a graphic quality to the space. The bedroom is draped in a billowy white sheer and provides a dreamy backdrop for the modern lines of the custom upholstered pieces with a simple color palette of white and hot pink allows for the different textures to take center stage. The coolness of the marble and lucite coffee table, the warmth of the mohair rug and fabric walls come together to create the ultimate in relaxation and comfort. All of this is set off by custom miniature lighting, inspired by pieces found in today’s most stylish showrooms. The Studio is complete with all things a girl needs to be creative and fashionable. Custom lacquered wardrobes anchor one wall and provide a space to showcase her most stylish handbags. She has an antiqued mirror and Lucite table, allowing plenty of space to display jewelry or work on a sketch. White tufted upholstered walls envelop the room, highlighting the custom hot pink silk upholstered screen and tufted ottoman. The white fur rug covers the walnut floor with the most luxurious of textures. Valerie Jurado Botanical Design, Sandra Jordan, Pierre Quinton Design Inc, G & E Custom Furniture, Arte Bella, C.G. Custom Tile and Marble, Campbell Glass, Donghia, Reborn Antiques,Micucci, Soli, Stone Source and Blair Newman for their contributions to the design.

Twinkind, a new company based in Hamburg, Germany, can turn you, your loved ones, or your pets into remarkably detailed figurines. Using 360-degree scanning and 3-D printing technologies, Twinkind is making realistic statues that capture everything from facial expressions and hair styles to the folds in your clothes.

The final figurines range in size from roughly 6″ (around $300) to 13″ (around $1,700) plus the cost of the trip to Hamburg. Hopefully they will be expanding to different countries. I think it would be so cool to have my mini me living in my dollhouse.

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Every two years I drag my kids to the Stanford Shopping Center to torture them with playhouses on display that A. they can't play on and B. we could never afford to buy. Rebuilding Together Peninsula is a local non-profit organization that provides free repair services to low-income homeowners and community facilities that serve those in need. Their biennial fundraising event pairs local architects with builders to create these amazing over-the-top children’s playhouses. Truly unique, these custom playhouses blow the lid off most playhouses on the market. Since 1993 the Dreams Happen event has raised over $2.8 million, with playhouses auctioning from $13,000 to $71,000. You can see my past posts from 2009 and 2011 here.

Clubhouse LoftThis was one of my favorites. I love the mid century modern butterfly roof and the mix of building materials. My kids loved it too. It sold for $60,000.

Box.O.Matic 3000I was really bummed we didn't get to see this one. The playhouses were spread out all over the shopping center and my kids we getting tired so we missed out on seeing this one. It sold for $11,000.

Peninsula CreameryThis was the other one we didn't see in person, if we had I don't I could have kept my kids out. Just look at all of the fun stuff to play with in this ice cream shop. Too cool! It sold for $33,000.

Home BaseMy 6 year old is a huge SF Giants fan, so this was his favorite. The baseball bat ladder and all of the paraphernalia knocked this one out of the ball park. It was the home run of the auction breaking all previous records with a whopping $101,000 winning bid.